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ECHOES OF A SONG
Legacy of the Mask Series
BY A.L. BUTCHER
Blurb
A dozen tumultuous years after the dramatic events at the Paris Opera House Raoul, Comte de Chagny is still haunted by the mysterious Opera Ghost – the creature of legend who held staff at the Opera House under his thrall, kidnapped Raoul’s lover and murdered his brother. In Raoul’s troubled imagination the ghosts of the past are everywhere, and strange and powerful music still calls in his dreams.
Madness, obsession and the legacy of the past weave their spell in this short, tragic tale based on the Phantom of the Opera.
Best fantasy 2019 on reviewer site NN Light Book Heaven!
ECHOES OF A SONG
Legacy of the Mask Series
BY A.L. BUTCHER
Excerpt
© A. L. Butcher
In the dim light of Charles’ room, Raoul saw his son curled up on his bed, arms around his sister. Both fast asleep. Charles had a book clutched in his delicate little hands, and his dark hair lay across his pale face in the darkness. Silver moonlight crept in, highlighting their faces with a strange glow and the shadows left them with mask-like faces. Raoul started, he’d seen such an aetherial countenance before. “Trick of the light,” he told himself.
Raoul stared at the sleeping children. He could see none of himself in the boy. Meg was his; she had his eyes, his round face, and his smile. Kristina resembled her mother more each day; it tore his heart apart to look at her. But even she had the de Chagny nose.
As he glanced around his eyes were drawn to the papers on the floor; Charles had been sketching again. In one corner his, Raoul’s face, had been clumsily drawn, and in the opposite corner was a disturbingly good likeness of the opera house. Raoul’s heart skipped a beat. Charles had never visited Paris, never seen the opera house. All this, however, was eclipsed by the picture in the centre of the room. It was a picture of Christine and it was perfect. Once again Raoul looked at the boy. Apart from those amber eyes, he was almost entirely like her. Those unusual eyes that looked beyond him, looked through to his soul. Haunting eyes: intelligent and cunning. He was almost entirely her — almost.
About Author A.L. Butcher…
British-born A. L. Butcher is an avid reader and creator of worlds, a poet, and a dreamer, a lover of science, natural history, history, and monkeys. Her prose has been described as ‘dark and gritty’ and her poetry as ‘evocative’. She writes with a sure and sometimes erotic sensibility of things that might have been, never were, but could be.
Alex is the author of the Light Beyond the Storm Chronicles and the Tales of Erana lyrical fantasy series. She also has several short stories in the fantasy, fantasy romance genres with occasional forays into gothic style horror, including the Legacy of the Mask series. With a background in politics, classical studies, ancient history and myth, her affinities bring an eclectic and unique flavour in her work, mixing reality and dream in alchemical proportions that bring her characters and worlds to life.
She also curates speculative fiction themed book bundles on Pubshare – for the most part – the Here Be Series
Alex is also proud to be a writer for Perseid Press where her work features in Heroika: Dragon Eaters, Heroika Skirmishers – where she was editor and cover designer as well as writer – as well as Lovers in Hell and Mystics in Hell – part of the acclaimed Heroes in Hell series. http://www.theperseidpress.com/
Awards:
Outside the Walls, co-written with Diana L. Wicker
received a Chill with a Book Reader’s Award in 2017.
NN Light Book Heaven awards:
The Kitchen Imps and Other Dark Tales
won the best fantasy for 2018
Echoes of a Song – one of her Phantom tales –
won the best fantasy in 2019
Tears and Crimson Velvet
won the best Short Story category in 2020
Dark Tales and Twisted Verses
won the best Short Story Category in 2021
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Links to A.L.’s websites, blogs, books, #ad etc.:
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3LgRhGn
Available ebook, paperback, large print and audiobook editions.
Universal Link https://books2read.com/Echoesofasong
Book promotion and Indie Author Supporter.
Blog, writing services, and promotionwww.libraryoferana.wordpress.com
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/LightBeyondtheStorm/
Twitter http://bit.ly/Twi2hJZ3h9
Goodreads http://bit.ly/GR2iqokvK
Linked In https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-butcher-8342ab13b/
Pinterest https://www.pinterest.co.uk/abmonkey/
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Thanks, A.L., for sharing your book with us!
Don’t miss the chance to read this book!
Good morning, AL, and welcome back to Karen’s Killer Book Bench. I love Phantom of the Opera! I can’t wait to read this book! Thanks for sharing it with us today!
Oh dear…now what?
It just keeps getting more mysterious.
Thanks, A. L. and Karen
Thanks.
Phantom of the Opera has enchanted me for 35 years, This is Raoul’s story, his tragedy.
Can’t wait to read his story!
Looking forward to reading this.